90-day limit on wait for employer health coverage

Employers can't make new hires wait more than 90 days for coverage in the company's health care plan.

The new limit, which for most plans will apply starting Jan. 1, 2015, is in government rules that carry out a section of President Barack Obama's health care Law. The Labor Department issued the rules Thursday. It could make a difference as the economy gets stronger and more jobs open up.

The Kaiser Family Foundation says nearly 80 percent of workers face a waiting period before coverage takes effect. Most don't have to wait as long as 90 days. The average wait is under two months, but 30 percent have to wait three months or more.

In New Jersey, employers of 50 or more people currently face no state regulations on how long employees have to wait for health insurance, according to Christine Stearns, vice president of health and legal affairs at the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. Smaller employers in the state were allowed a waiting period of up to six months, she said. The new federal rule supersedes that state regulation.